Hindsight

by Jody Klaire

  “Stay there.” She turned and pulled the long thing with prongs out. She was squished in between me and the wall. I wasn’t sure how she could breathe let alone work.

  “Just hurry, you know what Frei is like.” I had one eye closed to keep sight of Frei. She was through the gate I was penning Renee next to. “She’s glaring at me.”

  “Then tell her to come and pick it,” Renee muttered.

  “Because that would work.”

  I heard a lock snap open and Renee yank the chain. Metal scraped against wood.

  “Anyone watching?” she asked.

  I looked around. “One guy on the stall in the corner. If that is a real stall.” I couldn’t figure out which eye I was seeing him through. Freaky and then some.

  Renee poked her head out under my arm. “Real stall.” She sighed. “Pick me up and carry me through.”

  “Huh?” I sounded as dumbfounded as I felt.

  Renee wrapped her hands around my neck. “Just do it.”

  “Alright already. I can’t see the gate properly so you gotta help me out.” I smacked my knee against something wooden and yelped.

  “Left a bit,” she said, wrapping her legs around my waist. Why we had to do this limpet-style, I had no idea. Still, she was the boss.

  Left, right. I did as told, bashing into every part of the frame. It must have been a gate for short people. I nearly dropped the lock as I stumbled. The lock felt warm. Warmer than it should have been.

  “That’s it.” She jumped down and I heard her close the gate.

  “How did that make us look less suspicious?” I switched eyes as one started to water. I sneezed again, hoping I had a spare hanky someplace.

  “Don’t ask. Something the guy said earlier,” she muttered.

  Frei just stood there laughing at us. Her long hair flopped about as she did it. Her eyes as piercing as always.

  Renee walked to my side. “What do you see?”

  I shut both eyes. “Empty alleyway. There’s an old factory or warehouse or something on the right. It has letters on it. They look new.”

  “Then it’s a memory,” Renee muttered. “There’s cleaner stone where the letters were now and there’s a few dumpsters.” She took my hand and pulled me to her side.

  Frei stopped laughing and turned. A tall man strolled around the corner. I sighed. “Yep, definitely a memory. Huber is gray now . . . and ancient.”

  “She met Huber here?”

  Frei hurried over to Huber and dropped her chin to her chest, thrusting out the wallet she’d just lifted.

  “Very good,” Huber told her, searching through the wallet and pulling out the credit cards. “One better than yesterday.”

  Frei didn’t reply. Her fear filled her aura and zapped at her.

  “You might not be as worthless as they say.” Huber turned and handed the wallet to a woman. She looked like she wanted to eat Frei for dinner. I shuddered for her.

  “What is it?” Renee whispered.

  “Huber terrified her. There’s some woman with him. Dark hair. She has eighties hair.” That and the tightest red mini-skirt I’d ever seen.

  “Eighties hair?”

  “Yeah, you know, the curly wavy style that went with shoulder pads. My stepmother was always gettin’ a perm.” I shrugged. There was something about women with that style that made my jaw clench. “She has a necklace on, some kind of blue pearls.”

  “Megan.”

  I turned at the sound of derision in Renee’s voice.

  “Huber’s mistress . . . she has a screw loose.”

  It wasn’t like Renee to say anything like that so I knew I was staring at her.

  “Trust me. The woman is nasty.”

  I nodded and turned back to Frei. Huber wandered off with his prize.

  Megan glanced over her shoulder as if making sure Huber wasn’t watching. She raised her hand and caught Frei with a cutting blow to her left cheek. “I wouldn’t say she was useful just yet.” Megan leaned in. “But those sweet blonde locks of yours should fetch you a nice price.”

  Frei hadn’t so much as whimpered from the blow. Huber snapped his fingers and Megan grabbed Frei by the arm and yanked her down the alleyway.

  “They’re moving,” I mumbled.

  Renee steered me around objects as I followed the memory. The alleyway shifted at right angles. “There’s a truck up ahead.”

  “There’s another gate in reality.”

  Huber opened the door but I guessed for Megan more than Frei. Megan got into the passenger side and he touched Frei on the cheek before opening the back door and disappearing around to the driver’s side. Frei turned to look at me and winked. She tucked the wad of bills she’d had up her sleeve into her back pocket.

  “Atta girl,” I whispered.

  “What?” Renee didn’t sound too impressed.

  “Nothin’.”

  Her skeptical hum made me chuckle. I liked Frei’s style.

  The truck pulled off. I opened my eyes. I was standing right in front of a large wooden gate. “Whatever it is we need to find, it’s in this area.”

  Renee glanced around her. There were no dumpsters in this narrow part, only some trash and moss.

  “There.” Renee hurried over to a section of wall. She pulled out something that looked like a piece of plastic. “Well done, Aeron.”

  I shrugged. “You into collecting junk?”

  Renee met my eyes. “You should know this. You did it in training.” She was in teacher mode again.

  “What does it matter? You know what it is.” I shoved my hands in my pockets.

  “Of course it matters. This is one of the single most important tools in your survival kit.” She nodded in encouragement. “It’s essential you remember this. You might need it.”

  Always an opportunity for teaching. “It’s a USB?”

  “No.” She remained gentle. “You think this would fit in a computer?”

  “If I could get close enough that they didn’t blow up, I’d tell you.” I folded my arms. “I don’t do technology.”

  Renee pulled out her cell phone. “You can do this.”

  I stared at the plastic thing and at the phone. “A breadcrumb?” I had no idea what I was saying but I was going with it. It didn’t sound very much like a technical term.

  Renee beamed at me. “That’ll do. What can it tell us?”

  “Nothin’ unless you shove it in the phone and press okay.” I opened and closed my mouth as Renee did just that. Hey, I remembered something.

  “She was here two days ago.” Renee looked up at me with a smile. “She wasn’t with Jessie.”

  She reached out and touched my hand. A flash rippled through me and left cold sweat dribbling down between my shoulder blades. “And you did the same . . . back then . . . which is how Frei found you.”

  “I’m okay now.” She rubbed her thumb over mine and motioned to the gate. “It’s quicker if you just yank it open.”

  “Heavy liftin’, huh?” I gripped hold of the handle and snapped my hand back. Renee dragged me backward as not only the gate but the whole fence crashed down. “Oops.”

  I was strong but I wasn’t that strong. Renee looked down at the fence. A guy who was on the street turned and gawped at me.

  I shrugged, the gate handle in my hand. “Guess it must have been rotting.”

  He blinked and scanned me up and down.

  “She works out,” Renee shot his way, pulling me over the fence.

  We hurried along the street and back to Renee’s car.

  “Don’t we need to look for more clues?” I asked.

  Renee pulled out the list of contacts my dad had given us. “She said she was on a FAR.” She sighed when I just stared at her. “Find And Retrieve.”

  Again I had nothing.

  “A FAR is when our POI goes AWOL.” She tapped the dashboard and plugged something from it into her phone.

  “Do you ever speak in full words?” I asked as a little map flashed up on the screen
in the dash.

  “Ursula didn’t take Jessie with her. She was trying to find her and bring her back to base.” Renee tapped the screen and a note from Frei popped up. It was all acronyms. “Jessie left the base a day before. Frei went after her and had left a message with Brenda to take the kids to a base near Oppidum for the time being.”

  I held up my hand. “Who is Brenda?”

  “Her PA or the receptionist as you labeled her.” Renee smiled at me. “Seems you and Urs were on the same wavelength.”

  Scary thought. “Why would Jessie go missing?”

  Renee shook her head and started the car. “You’ve got me there but Urs has told us to follow your lead and keep close to the rivers.”

  “But I don’t have—” A flash rocketed through my head and I gripped it. “Joey. My dad’s list.”

  Renee frowned.

  “He needs our help . . . now.” I gripped on as Renee dialed the number on the sheet and slammed the car into motion.

  No answer.

  She glanced at me. “Where?”

  I pointed to the map. “Think it’s a carjacking. Iris is there too.” My ex-stepmother wasn’t my favorite person but she needed help.

  Renee hit a button on her dash and a light slid up from it. Go CIG. “Grab the jackets from the back and your vest. There’re badges in the glove compartment.”

  I nodded and did as I was told. It would be one way to reacquaint myself with Iris.

  Chapter 18

  RENEE GLANCED OVER as Aeron held on to the grab rail. Her complexion had paled and she frowned. She’d have thought it was from the breakneck speed they were hurtling along at, but Aeron had looked drained when they got back to the car.

  “Are you feeling okay?” She knew Aeron wasn’t a morning person. Maybe the lack of sleep had hit her? They were only midway through the morning.

  “Tired.” She yawned a big yawn that was followed by a shoulder shudder. “Don’t get why folks are up this early.”

  “It’s nine o’clock. Everyone is at work.” She tried not to chuckle. She knew the schedules in Serenity must have been ingrained in Aeron. Inmates had been up for breakfast at seven; then locked away until just before lunch; then, they “worked” until dinner at five, and were locked away again. Aeron still operated on that time. She was always starving at those times. Renee bit her lip. They hadn’t had breakfast. She’d need to find something on the way.

  “Most people look how I feel,” Aeron mumbled. She rubbed her hand over her face to cover another yawn. How could she yawn at the speed they were going? “Why start so early?”

  Renee was a morning person. She’d always been that way. Her father had a lot to do with that. Her military career only added to it. “The sun is shining, there’s an energy, can’t you feel it?”

  Aeron grunted as Renee screeched around a corner. Didn’t help that she had to adjust due to a bus parked at a stop. Less than smooth wasn’t good enough. “All I can feel is that most people are worrying about being late, a few are dreading their boring work day, and the rest are thinking about lunch.”

  “I’m sure there are some people who are happy.” Renee looked out the window. It was just after rush hour so a glance outside confirmed Aeron’s thoughts. “They’ll be better after a coffee.”

  “’Cause some hot water and beans are gonna fix the fact they hate working?”

  Renee shot a scowl Aeron’s way. What could she say? Did most people enjoy their jobs? She tapped at her wheel. She loved her job but then she was seeing former people and talking to Nan. “It helps them be part of society. People want to work.”

  “I get that but when people don’t, it’s gotta be real hard.” She glanced over and Renee could see shadows under her eyes. “I know they do ’cause they gotta eat but it makes my stomach ache.”

  “How about you?” She knew her voice sounded careful. Aeron always got to the heart of her no matter how hard she tried. “Are you one of those people?”

  “Sometimes. Boot camp weren’t a lot of fun.” She blew out a long weary breath. “It sure beat Serenity though.”

  “And now?” She held onto the wheel tighter than necessary. Aeron had signed the contract, she wasn’t allowed to go anywhere else but her desire mattered.

  “I get to spend time with you, rescue folks, and some days I get to sleep in.” Aeron flashed her a brilliant smile. “All good.”

  Renee tried not to be charmed. If anyone else said those things to her, she’d have batted them off as lip service but Aeron wasn’t like that. She meant it. Renee tried ignoring the little dance her heart did in response.

  “When we’ve helped Joey, we’ll need to concentrate on finding Bess. That was the direction Lilia said would help.” Renee didn’t understand it. She went with it because Aeron and her mother always guided them well. Her logical mind demanded that she have a process instead of focusing on blind intuition.

  But that was exactly how Aeron had kept St. Jude’s and her safe with “blind trust” as she called it. She’d talked about how her heart or “untrained eye,” gave her the ability to see the truth in people. Somehow it still all sounded like guess work and Renee’s mind wanted a plan. A good old-fashioned plan with bullet points and diagrams.

  She wanted order and reason. Was that so hard?

  If her heart would stop fluttering at Aeron’s smiles or her voice or the way she cared about everything, then Renee would feel far more reasonable.

  She sighed. What a load of crap.

  “We know who she is?” Aeron asked, her voice sleepy. How could the woman sleep with the sirens going?

  “I do.”

  Aeron let out a long grumble. “Let me guess, you’re not at liberty to blah, blah, blah . . .”

  Renee chuckled. “Actually, I am but I really would love you to enjoy the surprise.”

  “As long as she ain’t a homicidal maniac who tries slobbering on me, I’m good.” Aeron yawned again. “Next set of lights.”

  Renee nodded as she spotted the car Aeron had highlighted. “And there was me thinking you liked their conflict.”

  Aeron poked her in the thigh.

  Renee jumped at the static and scowled. “Hey, that’s cheating.”

  “What is it with you and aiming for kneecaps?” Aeron asked with a chuckle.

  Renee pulled over. Three men surrounded the car. She looked around. It was broad daylight and no one was paying attention. “Trust me, if it was an option, I’d aim higher.”

  Chapter 19

  HUBER AND HIS immunization techniques.

  Frei lay there in the dark. Jessie was quiet and, she hoped, asleep. Her memories had started to feel like a prison. Like she was trapped. Each time it was like being locked in another cell, following another memory. Strange, but the one she’d had of the fish market featured Aeron. She hadn’t met Aeron then but Aeron had a lock in her hand.

  She’d left it in her jacket for Aeron to touch if she wanted to know how much it had meant when she backed her up. How much she’d wanted to say thank you when Aeron saved her from Jäger.

  A gift.

  Something she had trouble saying so she’d done it with every ounce of love she felt.

  She shook her head at how pathetic that sounded. Now she was droning on like Renee. So she cared. So Aeron had brought her out of herself. It wasn’t like she wanted to move in.

  “You spend a lot of time on her.” Megan’s voice was careful but suspicion laced its way through. Frei watched through the keyhole, she couldn’t sleep anyway. Her fever had only just broken but she ached too much. Megan had been her delightful self. Frei had spent most of the day scrubbing the already spotless floors, twice.

  “Are you questioning me, Megan?” Huber raised a bored eyebrow. The warning was there for Frei to see though. Megan was getting above herself. She’d been a lot worse lately and Huber’s temper had been rising more too.

  “She’s blonde. I thought you liked mine dark?” Megan sat on the edge of the table as Huber swilled his whiskey
in his glass. He eyed her with a look that made Frei shake her head.

  “I prefer you speak less.” He sipped at his whiskey.

  “How can I keep you interested if your eyes are riveted to that slave?” Megan threw her hands in the air. Her sharp-boned shoulders jutted out. She was skinnier than usual.

  Huber laughed at her. Frei clenched her jaw at the sound. He often did that to her when he disliked something. It stirred such a deep anger, made her feel so pathetic that she couldn’t contain it sometimes. It would show, Huber would laugh more.

  Megan turned from him. Frei caught the glint of tears in her eyes. She stormed toward the door. Frei sprinted away from it, into the room on the right.

  “Doubt you want to watch them too long.”

  Frei froze at the sight of the driver, his worn eyes focused on his hand. It was bleeding. He was trying to thread a needle.

  “She thinks he’s looking at one of us.” Frei bit her lip. The driver had helped Suz. She liked him. She didn’t know why but something about him fascinated her.

  “He’s not.”

  She took in his face, rugged, battered. He had scars on his shoulder, his bicep bulged but his hand shook. She went to him, took the needle. “Are . . . are you okay?”

  He let a rough chuckle through. “You always ask dumb questions?”

  She threaded the needle. Pinched the wound together. Some kind of knife wound by the look of it. “Are you always slow enough to get hit?”

  His rough laugh was low, deep. His skin deep in color, dusty colored.

  “Do . . .” She glanced at the door. “Do you have a name?” He raised a rough, scarred eyebrow at her. He was in luxurious quarters for a slave. He had to have a name.

  “Fahrer.”

  She smiled—Fahrer meant driver—that made sense even if he was a lot more than just a guy behind a wheel. She sewed the wound without anesthetic. He didn’t so much as murmur. Just watched her.

  “You helped her.”

  He nodded when she got up, tapped his shirt for him to remove it. If he’d been caught there, he’d been caught other places. “Shoulder.”

  She helped him remove the remaining sleeve. His back grated, his arm slashed. “Interesting drive.”